Destruction on the eve of New Year – a moment to think.

By: Iftikhar IslamCelebrating any event is the right of every citizen, but it does not allow an individual to snatch away the privileges of other citizens.

The most celebrated night of the entire year is the eve of New Year. It has become a national festival in India, and around the world. The day is celebrated with a lot of fervour and enthusiasm and is marked by parties, New Year fetes and social feasts. It’s the time to party and dig into the last minute fun. People enjoy partying with friends and family members. All the night clubs, discotheques, amusement parks and even the cinema halls are thronged by people of all ages. The idea behind all these get-togethers is to give farewell to the by-gone year and welcome the New Year bountifully. The enjoyment is so blind that they fail to realize the destruction they make of their very own body, harming the pleasant environment, subjugating the rights of the fellow citizens – which leads to destruction of the ethical society.

On the eve of New Year, the crime rate increases; the over-boozed teens are hospitalized, fornication is done systematically, girls are sexually harassed, and many a times they are even raped brutally and killed cruelly. Yet we are least bothered about the increasing crimes. We don’t even think of how the society is being destroyed. When are we going to realise this, after all these happens to ourselves or with our mothers and sisters? It’s high time we should wake up and get to our feet against it. If we flip through the pages of Newspaper – couple of days after New Year - we will find a rapid increase in crime cases around the Nation. Are we not responsible for this?

Yes! We are responsible. There has been an increase in the sales of alcohol in the last few days. In Hyderabad alone, the sale of alcohol was 10crore on 29th December. On 30th and 31st, the sales rose by 40 crores, making 50 crores in three days. There has been a random increase in the sale of alcohol by 17% this year as compared to the year last! 80 lacs bottles of whisky and brandy, and 69 lacs of beer bottles were sold. On police raid 69 cases were filed against 54 persons for illegal activities. (Reported by: Andhra Jyoti, Dt: 02-Jan-2011)

Surprisingly, the rate of women-drinkers is also increasing day by day. Women want to spend the night with their friends - in the name of celebration - which leads to intoxication, adultery, fornication, and what not! And the so called “ethical” parents allow their children to hang out with their friends, male and female and spend the entire night with them. Even the club owners didn’t bother to think about the nation, its prosperity and culture. I saw a hoarding near our hostel (I live in hostel in Hyderabad) and the ad says “Let your kids see the world this New Year at the country club’s “around the world” party.” Of which “world” the country club wants our kids to see? The world of alcohol, drugs, adultery, indecency, prostitution, crimes? If the kids are trained in this fashion, then our country will soon face the demise of virtuous society.

Murder, theft, robbery, rape, sexual assault occurs on the night of New Year. The crime rate increases nine times during this night. According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Australia), violent crime and property offences increase by nine-fold between the hours of 9pm New Year’s Eve and 3am on New Year’s Day. Alcohol plays an important role in the destruction of the society which is very hard to re-build.

The teens are so involved in celebrating the New Year that they even overlook the noise pollution made by them and even break rules. They don’t even care to slow down their cars and tune down their music systems in front of hospitals where silence is a must. They don’t even bother to look at it. This is what our education system has been teaching our youth. In the name of professionalism, the resources of the country are misused. We need to give the right education to our youths to make a society free from crimes. We should respect each other. The celebration should have certain limits.

The government should lay down strict rules and prevent the increase of crimes. It should protect the environment and build the ethical society which is the need of the hour. The government should not allow the noise pollution during the night, which disturbs the sleep of hard-workers.

There is an extravagance expenditure made in the name of celebration without even thinking of the poor who don’t even get necessary food to satisfy their hunger. Hunger is the main cause of increasing crimes like theft and robbery which can be prevented by systematic-expenditure and increased charity.

If we love our country, fellow citizens, then we shall never dare to pollute its environment, culture, and ethics, in the name of celebration! Celebrating any event is the constitutional right of every citizen (of India). But is does not mean to snatch away the rights of other citizens. Senior citizens also have the right to sleep in peace. Patients need silence, kids, too, have the right to get proper moral values, which is very important for the future. The future of India is in the hands of youth, and they should be polished in a systematic way to achieve peace and prosperity. I hope my fellow citizens respect the rights of others and limit their own enjoyment and be a responsible citizen, whom India needs in, abundant.

Iftikhar Islam is the Administrator-Founder of Passionate Writers and GPRF (a non-profit org. in Belgaum), incredible author best known for collaborating management strategies with Islamic knowledge for an all-round Islamic development as required in the 21st century. He holds a Post Graduate Degree in Business Management from prestigious IIPM School of Business & Economy; and an ardent of Islam, Comparative Religions, Media and Law. | Know More |